Nanocatalysis on Tailored Shape Supports: Au and Pd Nanoparticles Supported on MgO Nanocubes and ZnO Nanobelts.

Active Au and Pd nano-particles supported on MgO nano-cubes, ZnO nano-belts, and transition metal-contg. MgO nano-belts were synthesized by combining evapn. and deposition-pptn. techniques. The high activity and stability of Au/CeO2 and Pd/CeO2 nano-particle catalysts deposited on MgO cubes were remarkable and imply a variety of efficient catalysts can be designed and tested using this approach. The significant increase in concns. of corner and edge sites in MgO nano-cubes make them well-defined supports to study the detailed mechanism of catalytic activity enhancement.